Rai was addressing a function where a joint study "Securing India's Digital Payment Frontiers" by Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and digital payments major PayPal India, highlighting the current state of cybersecurity in the ecosystem, was released.

The study analyses India's journey in digital payments and its cybersecurity dynamics, prevailing cyberthreat landscape, polices, regulations, standards along with the future trends and best practices at the enterprise level.

"We believe securing digital payments is important for reposing trust and accelerating adoption. The partnership with PayPal would bring our collective experience in cybersecurity and digital payments for enabling a secured digital payments ecosystem in the Indian context," said Rama Vedashree, CEO of DSCI.

A recent report by the Reserve Bank of India stated that the number of digital payment transactions stood at 1.06 billion in December 2017. The Indian government is targeting to reach 25 billion digital transactions by the end of this fiscal year.

In a "foreword" to the report, Vedashree and Phoram Mehta, Head of Information Security, APAC at PayPal, said that India, with a large share of 48 per cent of the world's unbanked and financially underserved, is a critical frontier for digital payments and fintech industry in general.

They said over the last few years, the digital payment space grew exponentially in India with over 400 organisations working to create and capture value in online commerce.

The study includes a perspective on the evolving digital payments sector in India including global perspectives on fintech revolution.

"UPI has emerged as the fastest growing payment interface in the country and while domestic startups continue to grow at break-neck speed by leveraging these innovations, entry of the global players like Google, PayPal and WhatsApp in India over the last few months speak volumes in regards to the opportunity, India offers in the fintech space."

According to the study, cybercrimes have impacted the industry in a big way.

"More than 1.9 billion records were lost in the first half of 2017 over approximately 960 reported incidents. Of this India's share was 274,198,181 records over 15 reported breaches," the study found.

With advancements in emerging tools and technologies like cryptocurrencies, Internet of Things (IoT), automation, Machine Learning (ML) and analytics redefining the future and fintech industry, the report recommends future deliberations to ensure robust and resilient Indian financial services industry that offers a secure experience.

The study said that a long-term strategy could help manage the dynamic global cybersecurity environment and controlling cybercrime.